Your experience with Tunze "top off" Osmolators
- Thread starter LeeMc
- Start date
I just set one up on my new 120gal and I love it. It works like a charm and the water alarm feature is really nice because it tells me if my sump is filling up too high when I turn the return pump off or something like that. Its very nice not having to top off water by lifting 5 gal containers anymore.
marcrothschild
Active member
I have had one for 3 years with no problems. I clean the sensor every so often with a tooth brush. Never a failure.
antonsemrad
New member
Mine has worked with no issues for three years now. I have an extra pump, but the old one keeps on a ticken.
The thing is kind of expensive, but works well.
If I had to do it over, prob just use a litermeter or some such.
The osmolator cant dose kalk.
The thing is kind of expensive, but works well.
If I had to do it over, prob just use a litermeter or some such.
The osmolator cant dose kalk.
another vote for a peristaltic pump (like the litermeter) I had the osmolator and the fast top-off nuked my tank (kalkwasser) - the switches did not fail, but an overflow on a connected refugium told the osmolator to keep going until it dosed 8 gallons of kalk into a 30-gallon tank - this is not possible with a peristaltic pump, not to mention there is the least pH impact with constant top-off
mc-cro
(macro)
I have had my unit for about 4yrs. couldnt be happier. And the customer support is top notch.
I have had a pump burn out, but that was becuase I was back siphoning kalkwasser from the reactor everytime it shut down. (my check valve was clogged and I didnt know it) but Roger from tunze sent me one out right away with no problem.
As for overdosing kalk, I have had it happen. twice. The first time it happened, it was directly my own fault. I had unplugged the unit while doing a water change and forgot about it for a couple of days. When I noticed it later, I plugged it in and didnt think much about it until I saw the cloudy water. The pump turned on to replace the evaporated water, and timed out. but after running for 10minutes, it had already overdosed.
the second time was after a long power outage at the house. We had been out of power for 3 or 4 days, and the power kicked back on while we were gone, needless to say, again the pump kicked on and overdosed trying to replace evaporated water.
Both times could have been prevented if I had been a little more aware.
One of the best purchases I have ever made for my tank.
I have had a pump burn out, but that was becuase I was back siphoning kalkwasser from the reactor everytime it shut down. (my check valve was clogged and I didnt know it) but Roger from tunze sent me one out right away with no problem.
As for overdosing kalk, I have had it happen. twice. The first time it happened, it was directly my own fault. I had unplugged the unit while doing a water change and forgot about it for a couple of days. When I noticed it later, I plugged it in and didnt think much about it until I saw the cloudy water. The pump turned on to replace the evaporated water, and timed out. but after running for 10minutes, it had already overdosed.
the second time was after a long power outage at the house. We had been out of power for 3 or 4 days, and the power kicked back on while we were gone, needless to say, again the pump kicked on and overdosed trying to replace evaporated water.
Both times could have been prevented if I had been a little more aware.
One of the best purchases I have ever made for my tank.
BreadmanMike
New member
I love my osmolator. I'd recommend it! 
I left for work at about 8am - returned at noon to grab my bags before leaving for a flight - by that time it had dosed all 8 gallons - if the safety switch turned it off after 3-gallons that still would have nuked the 30-gallon pretty well.
If there is some sort of safety mechanism to totally shut-down the system, it didn't in this case.
I think that for top-off, it is a good solution, but for dosing kalk - I would go with something with a slower dosing rate that would be more appropriate to not change pH.
For the cost of the osmolator - a peristaltic pump is almost identicle, and does not have any chace for over-dosing due to a sensor malfunction - I have my rate set to about one drip every 2 seconds....
bureau13
New member
THere is supposed to be a 10 minute shut-off. Not sure how many gallons would be doesed in 10 minutes, but the included pump seems fairly slow.
The only problem I've ever had was when I failed to clean the optical sensor for...well, forever
and it got so gunked up it didn't know the water level was dropping. Now every so often I swish it around in vinegar, and I have had no further problems.
jds
The only problem I've ever had was when I failed to clean the optical sensor for...well, forever
and it got so gunked up it didn't know the water level was dropping. Now every so often I swish it around in vinegar, and I have had no further problems.jds
moonpod
Premium Member
i dunno about Max's experience. I use the tunze osmolator connected to a solenoid which controls my RO/DI. My nilsen is inline. Like GCarroll I'd have to say it's sort of Max's experience is weird b/c the thing has a 10 minute cutoff which limits the amount of water that can actually be added to the system. Wipe the sensor off every so often and the thing is pretty darn fool proof IME. I've been using one since 2003 w/o issue. Now granted I have a pretty big system volume currently, but previous systems have not been as large and haven't had issues.
the pump shuts off in 10 min, and I measured the amount it doses in this time: ~2.4 gallons. ask roger at tunze and he'll tell you the same thing. maybe you created a siphon by having the end in the water in the sump instead of above it. did that happen? because that would explain why it kept going.
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